Destiny's Threads
by ShinobiCyrus
Summary: Trigon has been vanquished, but the newly resurrected Slade is still on the loose. How will the Titans survive when Slade ensnares Raven?
1. Jump City Overdrive

**You're shocked, I know, but I don't really own Teen Titans. This fic would be an actual episode if I did. Enjoy. **

Parked on the side of the highway leading to downtown Jump City, the exhausted Traffic Cops slept away the late-night speedtrap shift in their patrol car. The thin midnight traffic breezed lightly by, the simple presence of a Police Cruiser incentive enough to obey the speed limit- even on the nearly deserted road.

But the night's calm was flushed away by the rush of static from the Police Radio, abruptly rousing the bleary-eyed traffic cops.

"_Attention all units, we have a robbery in progress off of Garret and Route 47. Suspect is fleeing the scene by motorcycle and is moving down the I-47 overpass towards Jump City. Be advised: suspect is to be considered **extremely** hostile; Repeat: suspect is fleeing by motor-"_

The officers jumped in their seats when a sleek black motorcycle crashed through the concrete guardrails of the winding overpass just ahead, freefalling as chunks of rock scattered in the air. There was a noise like extremely heavy hail as the debris dented the cruiser, and then the car's roof crumpled when the fugitive cycle used the conveniently-parked police car to lighten its fall before bounding off and resuming its ride down the highway to downtown Jump City.

Their car wrecked, the otherwise unharmed officers could only sit in shocked silence.

"_Report Updated: suspect has moved off the I-47 and is now headed East on Route 35…" _

* * *

Chuckling to himself beneath his mask, X sped through Jump City, taking deliberate, pre-planned turns down alleys and more commonly deserted roads to evade any lingering police pursuit. His plunder- a humble, shoebox-sized black case- was secured in a harness of leather straps that held the box near his hip like a sidebag; leaving his hands free to navigate his motorcycle. Making another right into a wide alley, X rode on like a black blur, the thief confident his way was finally clear. The job had been almost laughably easy, performed flawlessly and without a hitch-

X's tires squealed piercingly as the bike's brakes locked, fishtailing the motorcycle with a reluctant stop that threw up refuse newspaper and other such garbage.

_Now **this** is more like it, _he thought gleefully.

Robin blocked the opposing mouth of the alleyway, mounted on his blazing red R-Cycle as its engine purred like an idling tiger.

"X", Robin regarded coolly.

"Hey, what's up Big Red?" X greeted jovially. "Nice night isn't it?"

The Boy Wonder ignored him, cocking his helmeted head to X's black case. "What have you gone and stolen _this time_?"

"Aw, come on, you know I can't just ruin the surprise like that," the skull-faced thief chided, lightly tapping the satchel at his side. "You're gonna hafta read the Police Report like everyone else." Looking around expectantly, he added: "By the way, where's the rest of you Saturday Morning Cartoon reject Titans?"

Glaring at his rival contemptuously, Robin's green-gloved hand pointed accusingly. "They aren't here, and they don't need to be. This is just between you and me X. I'm taking you down myself!"

The boy-hero's determined declaration only earned a mocking laugh and sardonic shuddering from his opponent. "_Ooooh…_that gave me chills. I can tell you're dead serious now. If you had said that when we first danced, I would've surrendered outright and given up my life of crime…"

"I'm warning you, X!" Robin warned sharply. "This is your last chance to surrender peacefully."

Another mocking chuckle. "_Peacefully_? You've got weird ideas of fun, kid. This night started out as such a bore, why would I wanna spoil it when it just started getting good?"

"Have it your way," relented Robin, slapping his helmet's visor shut. He could almost imagine a wolfish smile on X's skull mask.

"_Let's play." _

The black cycle's tires spinning wildly, X rounded around and drove back down the way he had come, Robin's R-Cycle immediately behind. The motorcycle engines roared loudly as they turned out of the alley onto a main road; surprised motorists blared their horns as the teen riders cut dangerously in front of their cars.

The game quickly became more of a test of skill than an actually pursuit, the caped boy in black and the other in red weaving in and out of every lane-even into oncoming traffic. The bikes squeezed dangerously between cars, the city and its buildings one solid, blurred wall in a canyon; cars nothing more than inert obstacles compared to speeds they rode. Robin half-expected one (or both) of them to be killed instantly over such a reckless chase, but fortune stayed with them.

This time, at least.

X eventually braked to trim his speed, sharply turning onto a narrower, less congested road. Pressing his advantage, Robin pulled alongside X as his staff telescoped open. Left hand still dedicated to driving, Robin batted at X with blow aimed to clip the shoulder.

The harmonious sing of slender steel rang over the rumbling engines. It even rang through the rushing air that clogged Robin's ears.

The Bo staff had been stopped half-way along its journey, held struggling in his place by a luminous, curved Japanese sword with a pommel of twining black and red patterns.

Robin caught a glimpse of his own reflection in the blade of X's katana. "I don't remember including a sword with the Red-X suit."

"Your toys are for ages eight and up," X replied. "This baby here, she's new. You like her?"

"Yeah," the Titan agreed. The Bo and the blade ground against one another, sparks skidding between them. "It'll look great in the Police Lockup too!"

The two rode on, weapons wielded precariously in one hand as they relentless beat at each other's guard, hoping to disarm the other. It was a dangerous game, constantly shifting attention from the duel to the road, then back to the duel again as a sword or staff grazed by. Fortunately, it was a game where Robin had an extra trick.

Free hand tapping at the R-Cycle's controls, the self-navigation device Cyborg had installed only a few weeks ago claimed the driving responsibilities, leaving Robin with two hands free.

Planting his staff on his bike's nose, Robin pole-vaulted himself toward X, Bo whirling as he came down. For an instant, the Boy Wonder seemed to be suspended in the air, hanging over X as their weapons frantically collided in an endless string of attack and defense. In the end, the force of X's blows pushed Robin back onto his own bike, allowing him a moment's respite to pull further ahead of the pursuing Titan.

Shifting his motorcycle's gears, Red-X one-handedly turned his bike about, bringing him and Robin literally nose-to-nose as the vehicle's engine pulled it blindly along in reverse. "Sorry to end the fun so soon kiddo, but I've got other arrangements to run off to."

He waved goodbye offhandedly with his sword.

And then hit the brakes.

Leaning all his weight forward, the tail of Red-X's motorcycle lifted high into the air as Newton's momentum took over. The entirety of the bike was balanced on its front wheel, the dangling rear wheel swinging clockwise as X tilted to the side. The two's bikes ran parallel with one another, the R-Cycle's speed already carrying its rider past X's almost inert black motorcycle.

But not before X made one last, low chop with his katana.

Before Robin had even reacted to X's insane feat, the sword had already cleanly sliced the R-Cycle's front wheel.

"_Later, kid." _

The R-Cycle crashing face first into the pavement, Robin was thrown careening from his bike, saving himself by firing his grappling hook onto a nearby streetlight to lighten his fall as he rolled painfully onto the road.

Bringing himself to his feet, Robin wrenched off his helmet and looked frantically around the street. Save the annoyed honks of passing cars, the road was silent.

X had vanished.

"Dammit!"

* * *

Driving casually up the dock, X parked his motorcycle and killed the engine. Checking to ensure his 'package' survived the journey, the thief used his foot to flip out the bike-stand before dismounting. His new sword was secured in a sheath that ran diagonally under his cape, running down his right shoulder to the left hip- pommel low and hidden for quick and easy drawing.

The warehouses that coasted the pier were deserted at such a late hour; X freely striding towards a dark, unmarked depot nearby to where he had parked. The heavy door was unlocked, he let himself in.

X's skilled footsteps made a hushed, almost indiscernible sound in the cavernous room. The white skull mask hung isolated in the air like a ghostly face; the rest of his black suit blended indiscriminately with the deep darkness.

"Yo! anyone here?"

A large spotlight beamed down onto him, answering his question. His night-eyes ruined, the darkness scraping the fringes of the light seemed to deepen. X felt exposed, reaching instinctively for his katana's handle.

"You're late," a voice from the darkness hissed.

X visibly relaxed, his hand lifting slowly away from his sword. "Sorry, ran into a little traffic on my way here."

"I trust no one managed to follow you here?" the voice asked.

X snorted, insulted.

"Forget I asked," it relented civilly. "Do you have it?"

"Wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"Show me," it commanded.

Calmly unbuckling the straps of his harness, X held the case out to present it; sliding the case across the floor to the barest reaches of the spotlight.

A heavy, armored boot stamped out from the darkness, trapping the black box beneath it. The owner, while hidden in the shadows, gave a powerful, imposing presence. "So…," the stranger asked inquisitively. "How did it handle?"

The katana sang its gentle song as X slowly unsheathed her, cutting the air as he made a few practice cuts. "Shames silk into sandpaper, my man. I can hear the air hurrying to get out of the way when the blade moves."

"Well then, do we have a deal?"

"We sure as hell do," X replied.

"Splendid." The man shifted in the shadows, armored gloves reaching down and picking the little box from under his boot. Slade's dark eye appraised box thoughtfully, the rusty red half of his mask glimmering dully as he stepped into the light. "Excellent work, Red-X. Our transaction is completed. You are free to go."

The thief cocked his head curiously. "You aren't gonna open the case and see if it's the real deal."

"You proved your honor when you brought what I requested _after _I gave you the sword," Slade said evenly. "And, if it turns out you betrayed me anyway, you would be better off using that nice new blade on yourself before I caught you."

X could scarcely hide his shudder. The promise of violent torture had rolled too calmly off Slade's tongue for comfort. "Then, I guess I've got nothin' to worry about." Cape fluttering behind him, he turned to leave, offering a considerate salute as he departed. "See ya around, Cyclops."

Bringing his gaze back to the unassuming black box, Slade chuckled lightly to himself. "For your sake, my boy, I'd pray that we don't."

* * *

**This fanfiction was born when a Teen Titans fangirl _evilsangel _issued a challenge for anyone willing to write a kickass Raven/Slade story. If the next few chapters turn out to be a success, I will continue the plot as planned. To my Evil Little Angel, this is dedicated for you. Reviews are greatly appreciated!**

**Until next time,**

**-ShinobiCyrus**


	2. Vericks Wyrtum

**Not only do I not own Teen Titans, I don't even own anything but basic television, so I can't even watch it on TV! Oh, and I don't own Colgate. But seriously, who wants to own a toothbrush company?**

* * *

'_Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player  
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage  
And then is heard no more.'_

**-William Shakespeare, Macbeth**

"Well Cy, do you think it's fixable?"

Turning away from the R-Cycle- which resembled a crushed soda can more than an actually motorcycle- Cyborg's robotic eye gleamed irritably. "Y'know what I think, Rob? I think this poor bike's idiot of a rider went and got it's front wheel cut off by a _freakin' sword_ and crashed it into a light-pole doin' _eighty_!"

Robin winced. "Sorry I asked."

"Yeah, you'd better be sorry," Cyborg grumbled. "How long ago did I just give this thing a tune-up, man?"

"We should be grateful Friend-Robin was not the one to strike the pole 'doing eighting' instead," Starfire pointed out gently. A white nurse's hat on her head, she floated insistently around Robin treating the many bumps, scratches, and bruises he had received in his botched chase with X. Sadly, the Tamaranian's medical expertise was…lacking.

The struggling Boy Wonder looked nearly half-mummified already.

Hanging from the overhead rafter's of Cyborg's workshop like some sort of monkey, Beast Boy's green, upside-down head dropped between the Titans. "If ya ask me-"

"Which we weren't," Cyborg added absently, attention back to the motorcycle.

Never easily discouraged, the little changeling went on. "That bike got the raw end of the deal. Now if _Robin_ had crashed like that, he would've been fine-as long as he landed on his head!"

Beast Boy yelped when Robin threw a bundle of bandages at his face-straight into his mouth. There was a heavy thump when the green prankster landed painfully to the floor. "What? He was wearing a helmet!"

"Now come on, BB," Cyborg admonished, ruffling his buddy's hair with a heavy steel hand. "It's never funny when you make a joke about one of our friends gettin' hurt…"

"That is true, Friend Beast Boy," Starfire agreed. "Robin could have been very seriously inju-"

"….now Robin getting his butt-handed to him by X? I don't think that's EVER gonna get old!" Cyborg laughed. "I've already archived the police footage on the Favorite's List of my hard-drive."

Beast Boy yipped wildly with laugher (he actually turned himself into a Hyena). Even Starfire snorted with suppressed giggles.

Tearing off the rest of Starfire's poorly wrapped bandages, Robin was quick to change the subject. "What kind of sword was X using anyway? There's no way an ordinary blade could have cut through the R-Cycle that easily."

Cyborg and Star caught onto their leader's attempts to get the team back on a serious track…even though a certain green Hyena still tittered uncontrollably.

"I took a look at what was left of the R-Cycle's front well," Cyborg said. "The cut was way too smooth- even on the microscopic level. That sword must've been a serious piece of work to be able to do all that when someone like Red-X doesn't have superhuman strength. If I had to guess, I'd say that katana was some kind of high-frequency, ultrasonic blade."

Robin whistled low, Starfire nodded grimly. Morphing into his normal shape, Beast Boy's expression however, was lost. "Uh…a high-frequaintcy ultrawhatchya macallit?"

Rolling his human eye, Cyborg leaned down and spoke slowly. "Y'know an electric toothbrush? Imagine that, only the sharp edge of a sword that's movin' so fast you can't even see it move. That way, the sword can saw through a buncha stuff it couldn't have before….got it now?"

The shapeshifter nodded, dazed and drooling. "I think so…"

The door of Cyborg's workshop sliding open, the final Titan stalked into the room, hood drawn up. "Hey, Cyborg? Have you seen anyone lately? It's been quiet in the living room for over an hour and I think I'm actually starting to get-"

Pausing, Raven regarded the fully occupied room silently. Sparing a glance at the ruined R-Cycle, she gave Robin a passing look. "What happened to your bike? You let Beast Boy finally ride it or something?"

"Oh ha-ha Raven," BB grunted derisively. "Joke's on you sister! I didn't have anything to do with it!"

"It's true Raven," Robin admitted. "I was out riding a few hours ago when I heard Red-X robbed someone nearby."

"And instead of calling for backup, our _oh-so-valiant leader_ went after X himself and got his butt handed to him a the end of a shiny Japanese sword." Cyborg finished.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Red-X has a sword?"

"Yeah!" Beast Boy said with an exited, crazed look on his face. "X has got himself some crazy new super-sonic sword/toothbrush thingie that cut off Robin's wheels!"

Behind Beast Boy, Cyborg slapped himself on the head.

"Oh of course," Raven replied dryly. "X must have stolen Colgate's secret weapon against tooth decay and the gum disease gingivitis. Why didn't I see it before?"

"Gingerwhattis?"

"Forget it," the dark girl sighed.

"Actually Raven," Robin said, ignoring the changeling. "I was just going to call you. Apparently, X stole from the private collection of a man named Eldred Arkham."

"I'm assuming that name's supposed to mean something?"

"He's a secluded old man that lives in an old mansion on the outskirts of town," Robin explained. "He's a private collector in rare, one-of-a-kind ancient artifacts. Some people even say a lot of them may even be…well…occult."

"And when you heard the word 'occult' you thought of me," said Raven drearily. "Gee, you sure know how to charm a girl."

"Robin means you no offense Friend Raven," Starfire apologized gently. "He is merely saying that you are 'very creepy' and may be our only expert in the scary, creepy things this old man keeps."

Behind Starfire, Robin slapped himself on the head.

Drawing her cloak around herself, Raven turned to leave. "It's not that I'm not _inspired_ to help you guys, but your world's way too superstitious. You think a bunch of rocks arranged in a circle in the middle of nowhere is mystical. Those 'occult artifacts' are probably just a bunch of musty old statues and daggers that look 'creepy' to you people. Thanks, but no thanks."

"She's got a point," Beast Boy admitted. "That mirror she has in her dresser is probably like, a million times creepier than anything that guy Arkham's got."

"I still don't know," Robin mused. Raven was already heading out the door, and the boy wonder had already given up recruiting her help. "X doesn't seem like someone to steal a _book_."

Almost out the door, Raven stopped.

The Titan's didn't notice their teammate's pause. BB gawked. "A book? You went through all the trouble to chase X over a _book_?"

"Perhaps it was a very valuable book," Starfire suggested.

Robin shook his head. "I'm not so sure. It was written in the police report, but most everything's drawn up a blank, so I don't see how it could be a hot enough item for X to bother with. The Police are still trying to ask Arkham about it."

"What book was it?" Cyborg asked.

"Dunno. It's a weird title. **_Vericks Wyrtum_** or something."

Clearing the room in a instant, Raven appeared in front of Robin with a flourish of her cloak, eyes burning with white fire. _"What did you say?" _

The Titans leapt back in alarm, Raven hovered inches off the floor, cape writhing. "**What book did you say it was!**" she demanded sharply.

"_Vericks Wyrtum,_" Robin repeated. He looked at the dark girl warily. "Is everything alright Raven?"

Whatever had gotten in Raven seemed to fade immediately, she floated gently back the floor as her powers settled back under the cold mask of control she always wore. "Fine. Everything's fine."

"You sure Rae?" Cyborg asked.

She ignored him. "Maybe I should look into this, just in case. X wouldn't have just stolen it over nothing. I've got nothing better to do right now anyways."

Raven was trying to disregard her reaction, but Robin wasn't entirely ready to let it go quite yet. If Raven lost her nerve over a _book_, what was _really_ going on? "Do you know what that book is, Raven?"

"I'm not sure," she said.

"What about the title?" he pressed. "We looked. It doesn't seem to be any real language people have used."

"It's not," Raven confirmed. "That's why I'm worried."

* * *

**Sorry Chapter 2 took so long folks. Things have been just a tad hectic, and I even completely lost all internet access for two days, so my release schedule was screwed. This may be old news to a lot of you, I did my best to Message each and every person who reviewed Chapter 1 or put it on their favorites or alerts list that this Chapter would be a tad late. No one accuse me of not caring about my fans. Anywhoo, this chapter was just for transition purposes, and things are really gonna start up for Chapter 3. **

**Until Next time,**

**-Cy **


	3. Demons and Kittens

**To prevent a team of Demonically Possessed Lawyers (is there really any other kind?) from devouring my soul, I offer this disclaimer in my stead: I do not own Teen Titans.

* * *

**

'_That is not dead which can eternal lie,_

_And with strange aeons even death may die.'_

**-H.P. Lovecraft**

The Teen Titans are heroes. That statement is unanimously and unquestionably fact to any citizen of Jump City you would ask. However, more than a few politicians at City Hall find it mildly embarrassing the security and general welfare of their entire city is entrusted to a band of costumed teenagers (it tends to bring up questions of competency). In fact, the Teen Titans have no official legal standing in any government district running Jump City.

If you were to ask the Mayor, for instance, where the Teen Titans stand in the eyes of law, his rehearsed reply would be: 'a highly valuable public service group'- much like the Boyscouts…only with a shapeshifter, an alien, a well-trained super-athlete, a human cyborg, and a sorceress from another dimension on their membership.

So unless a giant moth or a humanoid, animated pile of cinderblock was parading about and causing destruction…those politicians at City Hall conveniently forgot all about the Teen Titans.

Fortunately, the Police Officers that often saw the many super-human criminals tear through Jump City's streets did not forget the Titans so easily. After all, you don't see the Boyscouts fighting Johnny Rancid or Mumbo, do you?

It was this unspoken respect that the uniformed cops picketing the gates of Eldred Arkham's stepped aside and allowed the T-Car to roll inside. While burglary was a more conventional crime, Red-X was anything but an ordinary thief- the Titans were requested immediately. And if some desk-jockey at City Hall were to ask about it later, the Police Commissioner planned to write off the Titans involvement at the scene 'Special Third-party advisors'.

Parking the hulking SUV in a space between two police cruisers, Robin, Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy climbed out. The team had agreed earlier that it was best that least one of them stayed behind and keep an eye on Titan's Tower's monitoring systems just in case Red-X were to resurface. Of course, no one felt like lying around the Tower watching computer screens all day- but Robin's detective skills and Raven's expertise were needed- so the remaining three Titans had to draw straws.

Much to his distress, Cyborg drew short.

Even twenty minutes after the fact, the others still couldn't figure out how Robin how gotten the keys to Cyborg's "baby".

Only moments after they had arrived, the captain that often handled cases involving super-criminals strode up to them, alien and intimidating in his dull white Special-forces armor. He marched straight to Robin and shook the Boy Wonder's hand. "Good to see you Titans, thanks for coming."

Robin nodded brusquely. "It's no problem Captain. I'm only sorry I botched that chase with X earlier."

The officer waved his apology off. "Think nothing of it; you got a helluva lot closer than any of our squad cars did. I've got an All-Points Bulletin to every traffic cop, street patrol, and crossing guard in the entire city. If X decides to pop his face outta that hole he's hiding in, we'll find him."

"Is there anything we can help with on the investigation?"

The captain spread out his arms, indicating the mansion courtyard bustling with policemen. "I have three Special-Unit squads patrolling the area, uniforms handling perimeter outside, and enough guys from Forensics to clean the Sistine Chapel with toothbrushes. I doubt we'll miss anything."

"Would you mind if we asked Mr. Arkham a few questions about the robbery?" Robin asked.

"Old-Man Arkham's got some health issues, apparently. Any questions you have will have to go to his liaison." He motioned behind him. "A few detectives already questioned him, but feel free to ask, he's been pretty cooperative so far."

The Boy Wonder turned to his team. "Alright Titans, here's the plan: Beast Boy and Starfire? You guys look around the premises and see if there's anything the investigators overlooked. Raven and I are going to ask Mr. Arkham's aide some questions."

Snapping to attention, Beast Boy gave Robin a mock salute. "Sir, yes sir!"

"Knock it off Beast Boy."

The changeling sunk. "Alright, alright…"

Breaking off to their assignments, Robin and Raven quickly found the liaison the captain had mentioned among the crowd of busy cops. He was a tall and elegant, a scarlet surcoat that seemed more appropriately placed in the Victorian era was fit snugly on his wide shoulders. Black dress-slacks and a charcoal, buttoned vest was a dark background for the final splash of bloody color for an immaculate bow tie at his neck.

While dressed flamboyantly, the man's outfit scarcely did him justice. His entire frame was built and solid, as if he had been carved from steel. Skin rough and olive, his eyes were slanted and intelligent; all this with an age that couldn't be placed. He carried the air and stance of someone with many years still ahead of them…but all this was belayed by a head of short trimmed, silver hair.

The man smiled pleasantly when he caught the two Titan's approach, sweeping into a formal bow as they walked up to him. "The Titans themselves, it is simply an honor."

Raven kept her distance, her face its usual unreadable mask. There was something…_off_…about this guy. His smooth, sibilant voice, that crisp and elegant air…the dark girl had to suppress a scowl. Robin, on the other hand, seemed to have no problem with the man, and greeted him politely. "Well thanks, it's a pleasure to meet you too Mr…"

"Saitz," the man offered. "I am the retainer to Mr. Arkham's estate. The Master's health is precarious at the moment. He is-after all-quite distressed with such a disturbance in his usually peaceful solitude. I am also the Head of Security for the mansion, so you can imagine the shame in such an utter failure as mine. You have myassurances for my complete and utter cooperation in this investigation."

"I wouldn't take this too personally," Robin said. "Red-X is a master thief- he's robbed places that were a lot better guarded than this."

The constant niceties and were quickly grating Raven, so she decided to get right to the point-it was the only reason she was even there. "What can you tell us about the grimoire that was stolen?"

Saitz was un-offended by the dark girl's frankness- he even laughed amiably. "Quick to business, I like that! Strange that you called it a grimore; most people would just call it a book."

"I own a good thesaurus," she replied dryly.

The older man laughed again. "And I thought the green boy was supposed to be the funny one."

"Yeah, he likes to think that," Raven said. "Now about _Vericks Wyrtum_…"

"Ah yes," Saitz said. "It is, by far, Master Arkham's most prized artifacts. We've done extensive work to preserve the text; it dates back over eight centuries, after all. The author is sadly unknown, so we have no way of properly interpreting the work."

"What about the title?" Raven put in. "It doesn't sound like any real language or dialect."

Saitz smiled, displaying rows of flawless white teeth. "You caught that, did you? Yes, it appears to be no real tongue, but Mr. Arkham's called several expert linguists over from time to time. At their best guesses, it's a strange play of Latin words, almost to the point where they can barely be recognized."

"Latin?" Raven muttered. "So the title must mean…"

"_The Truth of Fate," _Saitz finished. "Of what little of the book's history is known, it is said the author, whoever he was, was channeling spirits-some even go as far as to say demons. It goes on to say that _Vericks Wyrtum _is a compilation of all the knowledge these 'spirits' granted him about Fate and the Threads of Destiny that bind us all together. Naturally, the Catholic Church declared it heresy the moment it found their ears and burned every existing copy of the manuscript in the Thirteenth Century."

"Every copy except this one," Robin guessed.

"Correct. There even may be a reason to believe that the copy once in Master Arkham's possession was the _original_, as well."

Hood shading her face, Raven silently mulled on the information she was just given, leaving Robin to carry on. "How valuable would you say this book is?"

Saitz seemed almost insulted at the question. "A one-of-a-kind artifact such as this? I would say it's virtually priceless."

Unconvinced, Robin crossed his arms. "Everything has a price," he pointed out.

"True, but even an astronomical sum of money wouldn't do the text proper justice."

"Robin," Raven spoke up quietly. "It's time to go."

"Huh? But Raven, I don't think-"

"That's quite alright," Mr. Saitz bowed. "You obviously other matters to attend to. I hope I was of some help to your investigation."

To Robin, everything he had learned seemed to come at the price of a new question, but the amateur detective was at least thankful to have made progress, at least. "Yes, Mr. Saitz, you were a great help. Thanks a lot for taking to time to answer our questions, right Raven?"

But the sorceress had already turned her back and was stalking off.

Saitz chuckled lightly at the baffled expression on Robin's face when he turned and found Raven no longer standing where she had been. Excusing himself with another bow, the man about-faced and walked back towards the mansion.

"Well Raven, what do you think?" Robin asked whenhe finally caught up with her.

"Besides the fact 'Mr. Saitz' belonged in a Bram Stoker novel?"

"Uh…yeah. Besides that."

Sighing, the girl pulled back her hood. "It's hard to say. I have my doubts it's a genuine grimoire. Those 'demons' the author was channeling might just have been the after affect of some odd hallucinogen or another. Even if it was real, I doubt X would've known that when he stole it."

"But why would X bother stea-"

The two paused when a green bloodhound trotted between them, nose to ground and sniffing furiously. When the dog began snuffling too close to the hem of Raven's cloak, she nudged it back with her foot. "Watch where you're sticking that nose, Scooby."

"Find anything, Beast Boy?" Robin asked the hound.

Shifting back to his normal shape, Beast Boy snorted. "Well, I found out Raven had nothing but herbal tea this morning."

"Me? Herbal Tea? How _did _you know?"

Turning to Robin, Beast Boy glowered. "And _you_….bacon and eggs for breakfast! How can you live with yourself?"

Robin raised his hands. "Hey, don't try and force your soy/tofu lifestyle on me."

"Besides," Raven added coolly. "Whenever he eats meat, he likes to imagine he's eating _you._"

The green shapeshifter pouted "Now that's just mean…"

"Why _would _X bother stealing a book?" she found herself wondering aloud. "Saitz said it was one of a kind- not exactly something easy to sell off. Plus, an eight hundred year old book isn't exactly durable. Red-X was _prepared _for this."

"The black case," Robin recalled. "Red-X came here specifically looking to grab that book. But even if it all that garbage about its magic is for real, X is no magician."

"I have an idea," Beast Boy offered.

"Could it be," Robin went on, ears deaf to the changeling. "That X wasn't stealing for himself, but was _paid _to steal it?"

"Makes sense, but who would-"

"**I have an ideeeeaaa!**" Beast Boy yelled with waving arms.

"We heard you the first time," Raven said. "We were just hoping you wouldn't say it if we ignored you."

Tenacious as always, the green alien started rambling. "What if…a _demonic cult_ kidnapped X and possessed him with a buncha evil spirits!" his face was dark and comically ominous now. "Forced to do their evil bidding, X stole that spell-book thingie for them so they could do a dark ritual at their secret temple in the sewers and awaken their Demon Lord that had been sleeping beneath the ocean for millennia!"

The pause afterwards was long and drawn out. It wasn't exactly the speech itself that shocked them into silence-more due to Beast Boy's use of a big word like 'millennia'.

Raven finally spoke up. "Remind me again why we brought him along, exactly?"

Robin could only slap himself on the head.

Raven braced herself for Beast Boy's inevitable protests…when the air itself seemed to thicken. Alarmed, Raven looked around. Everyone- the crowd of police officers, Beast Boy and Robin- all seemed to move sluggishly, as if they were all moving underwater. Her witch-senses buzzed a warning that prickled the gem on her forehead.

Then she saw him.

A man moved normally among the mass of lethargic cops, invisible to them as his white cane clacked soundlessly along the stone courtyard. His soft blue trenchcoat swayed to a nonexistent wind. He was blind, the cane guiding him with his useless eyes wrapped in bloody bandages. The scarlet circles on the blindfold his eyes should have been turned to glance at her.

A group of officers slowly passed by, blocking Raven's view of him for a few moments.

Then he was gone.

And with its normal flow, time went on.

Robin's reply reached her ears. "No, Beast Boy. We are _not_ calling an exorcist."

"Aw come on! Give it a chance! Besides, when he's not helping us fight the demonic cult, he can exorcise that stick up Raven's-"

"If you prefer a painless existence, I'd stop talking right now," she warned, eyes glowing white.

Beast Boy grinned impishly at her. "You wouldn't hurt an innocent little kitty, would'ya Rae?"

Shrinking, the changeling morphed in an adorable green kitten that stared up at her with wide, glittering eyes.

Her fist enveloped itself in shadow. "Don't temp me."

"**KITTEN!**"

Out of nowhere, Starfire swept down from the sky and scooped the green kitty into a bone-crunching hug. "Oh Friend Beast Boy, I so do love it when you transform into such cute things! I cannot imagine why you do not do it more often!"

Raven pulled her hood back up to hide her smirk. "On second thought, I think this is a lot worse than anything I can come up with."

Scratching the back of his head, Robin carefully spoke up. "Uh…Star? I don't think Beast Boy's supposed to be turning purple…"

* * *

**I'm sorry if this fic's bein' updated at a snail's pace. Work has been wearin' me down, and I'm juggling this story alongside a Neon Genesis Evangelion fiction. Fortunately, it only has two chapters left on it, so soon I will be undistracted. Which is a good thing, 'cause someone (I'm not saying who) has threatened to dispatch killer ninja penguins and giraffes after me if I didn't update this soon. Now I can handle ninja penguins, but giraffes? I'm terrified of giraffes...**

**Anyways, I'm starting to get some momentum on this story, and I know for a fact you guys'll like what I have in store for Chapter 4. Slade makes his move. **

**As always, thanks for taking the time for reading and reviews are always welcome. **

**Until next update,**

**-Cy **


	4. Faces in Strange Places

**Just in case you haven't been paying attention, I don't own Teen Titans. Oh, and I also don't own Catch-22, which is the masterpiece of Joseph Heller, or Catcher in the Rye -which was written by J.D Salinger. Yeah…I don't own a lot of things…

* * *

**

'_The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon!  
Where got'st thou that goose look?'_

**-William Shakespeare, Macbeth**_  
_

"So, what do you guys want to do now?"

Time had that irritating habit is slipping under your notice when you weren't paying attention. Robin's ill-fated ride with Red-X had occurred early that morning- in that pre-twilight time when the new day had come but still stubbornly clung to the blanket of night. Hours later, the Titans had done all they could really do at the crime scene that was Eldred Arkham's mansion, leaving them at an impasse.

And so, with Robin driving the T-Car, Raven riding shotgun, and Beast Boy sitting with Starfire in the ridiculously spacious back seats (the SUV _was_ built for Cyborg), Robin had addressed the rest of the day with that one question:

"So, what do you guys want to do now?"

Throwing her arms up, Starfire shouted gleefully from the back seat. "I propose an expedition to the Mall of Shopping!"

Beast Boy pumped his fist into the air. "I second! Let's hit the mall!"

Raven rolled her eyes beneath her hood. _Just like a bunch of children. _

"Well Rae, mind going to the mall for a while?" Robin asked her aside, both eyes still on the road. He really was a good driver, really, so long as he wasn't in some ridiculous high-speed chase.

"I guess it would be alright," Raven shrugged.

"Cool, I guess it's settled then." Robin signaled into an exit and guided the T-Car down the winding overpass back onto the appropriate road.

The dark girl guessed going to the Mall wouldn't hurt. There was a bookstore she liked to visit whenever she found herself dragged there by Starfire or the rest of the team on a shopping binge. Best of all, Beast Boy _never _went to bookstores. There was also a large videogame store nearby as an extra safety measure, just in case.

Eyes wandering around the windows, Raven's gaze settled onto the rear-view mirror.

Speaking of Beast Boy…

"I can see you right in the mirror, Sherlock."

Bored easily, the annoying little changeling had taken to making faces at Raven from the safety of the back seat. With a degree of talent, Raven noted reluctantly, his next face was the combination of a goldfish, an anteater, and an octopus.

Yeah…you try to figurethat out…

"Knock that off before I make that pretty face permanent," she warned.

Starfire giggled when Beast Boy called her bluff, waving his arms as the tentacles wiggled mockingly. Soon enough, the Tamaranian was joining the interesting new game. Robin was too busy driving to notice, and Raven wasn't finding those two the least bit amusing.

"That's it..."

Turning in her seat to face them, the dark girl glared at them underneath the deepened shadow of her cowl. She hissed menacingly with dripping fangs, crimson eyes glowing.

It was a few minutes later when Robin shifted the T-Car and declared "We're here!" triumphantly.

"Lovely," Raven said dully. Not bothering with her seatbelt or the door, she wrapped herself in darkness and phased out of the car.

Robin tilted his head to the back seat "Beast Boy? Star? What's the holdup? We're here."

The two sat stiff in their seats like stone, faces wide-eyed and white (an impressive feat, considering both are usually orange and green respectively)

Robin frowned in concern. "What happened to you guys?"

"Friend Raven is very….talented…"Starfire said slowly.

"Dude…." Said Beast Boy, dazed and drooling. "Never get in a funny-face contest with Raven…she'll like, totally win…"

* * *

It was a sign of the times when a pale-skinned girl with purple hair, a black leotard, and a blue hooded cloak could walk through a crowded wall without so much as raising a brow among them. Going into public was always an odd thing for any Titans. Cyborg, Star, and Beast Boy were always themselves when they went out; they couldn't exactly change out of their 'costumes'. Out of all the Titans, Robin could most easily slip unnoticed into the general public. All it would take is a change of clothes and a slip of a mask and _viola! _

Truth be told, Raven _could _change into more…traditional clothes to not attract attention, but her outfit was a standard garb in Azarath. To her, _everyone else's_ clothes looked outlandish.

Fortunately, unlike say...Beast Boy's or Robin's, Raven's fanbase was small and quiet. Out in public, it wasn't unusual for small crowds of girls to swarm Robin, begging for an autograph ('Or God forbid, a _date'_ Raven recalled with disgust). No, the closest thing to fan interaction Raven ever had been was nodding politely to a quiet group of teenagers dressed in that appealing 'gothic' style they had in this realm.

And if Raven ever was going to take off her Azarath clothes, she would definitely switch into that earth-style.

The Mall wasn't exactly teeming with crowds this early in the morning, and Raven was privately satisfied as she entered the small bookstore to find it virtually empty.

A boy in his late teens leaned casually back in his chair, black shoes resting on the store counter. His black jeans were worn-out to the point of white creaseswrinkling them, and the dark T-shirt he wore seemed home-made. The words: **Don't Mind Me. I'm Just Another Catcher in the Rye **was scrawled in white across the front.

His nose was deep in the blue-covered book he was reading. Raven wasn't familiar with the title, **Catch-22**; whatever that meant. He seemed to have noticed someone entered the store, however, and thumbed the page he was reading to look at her through his square-rimmed glasses. "Well good morning Miss. Raven." He waved nonchalantly at her.

"Hey there, Kurt." She said as she brushed past the counter.

"Need any help today?" he called to her back.

"I'm fine, thanks." She didn't mind Kurt much. He minded his own business and was helpful- even helped her find a book she was looking for once. He sometimes jokingly referred to her as his 'celebrity regular'.

Raven didn't mind.

Unsure what she was in the mood for, Raven made her way up and down the deserted isles of books until she found her way into the 'Fantasy' section. There was sadly little to choose from, however. Most of the books she had either already read or would never read by pure principle. She was considering a move to the 'Classics' area to try and find a Lovecraft collection (he was sadly hard to find) when suddenly-

"_Raven…"_

Her muscles stiffened. Her nerves trembled. Raven _knew_ that voice.

"Slade," she growled.

"_Oh, you remember me?" _Slade's voice jeered._ "I'm flattered"_

White fire burned in her eyes. Raven felt her powers pushing against its barriers insistently. "Show your face and I'll show you just how much I remember."

"_Temper, temper," _Slade chastised. _"We both know what happens when your emotions get the best of you…"_

Fear, anger, and utter loathing for the man leaked past her safeguards. The books in the aisle trembled in their shelves. Raven grudgingly pushed her power deeper within herself.

"So, what are you doing here?" Raven asked into the air. She couldn't see Slade, but a part of her sensed him _somewhere. _She just needed time to isolate him and find out where. "I never imagined you as a 'shop till you drop' kind of guy."

"_Oh, just…hanging around," _he replied vaguely. _"In the meantime, I thought you and I could have a little talk." _

"I'm not interested having a chat with you. Why don't you try Robin? I'm sure he'd just _love _to hear from you again. Go try Sporting Goods downstairs."

Slade chucked at that. _"Always undervaluing yourself my dear. I'm not here to talk to Robin. He's just gotten so…predictable, lately. The Boy Wonder's just a bore now." _

He was close. God, he was close. Her powers sensed him, Raven could practically _feel _him. "So your favorite hobby just got boring, I'm really feeling for you. What do you _want_ Slade?"

"_Isn't it obvious, my dear?"_

Raven froze. She knew exactly where he was.

She slowly turned.

Like a nightmare come alive, Slade stood there at the end of the aisle, hands clasped behind his back. His dark eye narrowed and met her horrified stare. "I want _you_."

"_**Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"**_

In a panic, Raven's powers rushed out from her, enveloping several huge shelves of books and hurtled them at Slade.

The flurry of books and shelves instantly buried him, maybe even crushed him.

Raven couldn't care less.

She sent her powers seeking beneath the mountainous pile; she would pull Slade out of there and deliver him kicking and screaming to the nearest Police Station.

Raven suddenly balked.

She couldn't sense him. It was as if he wasn't under there.

Wrapping the books and wooden bookshelves in darkness, debris began floating off of the pile.

"Miss Raven? What's going on! Are you alright."

_Oh right, Kurt._

"Keep your distance, Kurt," she cautioned. "I think your shop's attracting the wrong kind of customers."

"What are you taking about?"

As last of the pile slowly lifted itself off, Raven kept most of the debris waiting in the air above it. If Slade tried anything, she would just bury him again.

The infamous Slade, caught by a pile of books.

She couldn't appreciate the irony quite yet.

But at the bottom of the pile…there was _nothing. _

Nothing.

No one

_No Slade. _

"What other customers?" Kurt demanded. "You're the first person to come in this morning."

She threw her senses out into the air, searching for Slade's presence. She had _felt _him damn it! He was there-no, he is _here_!

But no. There was no trace. She sensed Kurt, the gathering crowd gawking outside the door, she felt Beast Boy next door playing video games, Robin and Starfire nearby.

But no Slade!

What was going on?

A heavy migraine stabbed her temples. Her concentration failing, the objects she kept afloat collapsed heavily onto the floor. She brought a hand to her head. _What's going? What's wrong with me! _

"Uh…Miss. Raven?"

"I'm sorry," she said regretfully. "I can't-I…I have to go."

A giant raven made of black fire sprung from the floor and wrapped Raven protectively in its wings. Wasting no time, the bird flew high into the ceiling, taking Raven with it.

At a loss, Kurt looked around at his shop, half of which looked like a raven-shaped tornado had just blown through.

Running his hand through his disheveled brown hair, he groaned to himself. "My manager is _not_ going to believe this…"

* * *

**(Gasp!) Egad, Cy! Where did this Chapter come from so quickly? To which I reply, 'Well, person-who-sounds-exactly-like-me, after reading a few chapters of Catch-22 and taking a shower, the new chapter just came to me…so I wrote it.' Two chapters in two days! Who loves ya, huh?**

**So yeah, Chapter 4, what you all were waiting for: Slade and Raven! Wheeeeeeeee! And the next chapter will have even more goodness with our Mastermind and his new pet Raven. Chapter Five might take a while, but trust me, it'll be a longer read, I think. Everybody loves more content!**

**And yes, from the 'Wheeeeeeeeeee' earlier, I think we've all figured out I've had too much caffeine. **

**Oh well, thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated, yada, yada. **

**Until next update, fans!**

**-Cy **


	5. A Glimpse of Things to come

**You've already read Chapters 1-4. You know by now I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

**

'_What's done cannot be undone.'_

**-Lady Macbeth, William Shakespeare's Macbeth **

"_It's not the End of the World without a dragon," _said the blind man to himself.

Jump City was in flames, its ruins and rubble burning with black, sorcerous fire that the pitiful mortals of the city could not extinguish. The Dark Dragon roared a song to celebrate the destruction, black flames spouting from its wide nostrils. With another great flap of its massive wings, the Dragon flew higher into the skies above the razed land.

A blue beam of energy struck the Dragon in the chest, it roared more at the mortal's audacity than actual pain. Perched on the blazing skeleton of one of Jump's skyscrapers, Cyborg aimed his gun-arm as it built up another charge.

A hooded girl sat atop the Dragon, black cloak writhing in the wind of her beloved's wing-beats. She grinned wickedly when she saw Cyborg, all four of her crimson eyes blazed like hellfire.

"_And cue in the Whore of Babylon," _the blind man said grimly.

"**Kill him," **she sang to Malchior.

"**_With Pleasure…"_**

Sucking a deep breathe of air, the Dark Dragon Malchior sent a titanic ball of black fire at the building Cyborg occupied. He managed only one final, futile shot before he and the upper half of the skyscraper was incinerated.

A green hawk dove down towards Raven from clouds, screeching in rage. Darting around the Dragon, Beast Boy shot towards her and transformed into a snarling cheetah in mid-air, claws outstretched.

"**Down, Kitty…"** she laughed.

With a careless wave of her hand, the jungle cat froze in mid-air and turned to stone. It dropped lifelessly from the sky towards the streets below, where it would shatter like glass.

"**While you burn at the stake I dance with the flames!"** the Dark Queen declared to the damned city ablaze.

Emerald star-bolts splashed against the shield of shadows Raven summoned. Soaring past, Starfire's furious eyes lanced powerful beams at the Dragons belly.

"**Come on, Princess!" **the Queen of Darkness taunted. Flapping higher into the sky, Malchior breathed his black flames at Starfire, who dodged them throwing star-bolts all the while.

"**I am more powerful than all the armies of the world!"**

Tears in her fiery eyes, gentle Starfire screamed with hatred at the girl she once called her friend.

And the Demon-girl cackled at her pain. **"I laugh at your trust! I take what you love and leave you in tears!"**

"_All hail the Queen of Hell," _the blind man grunted, unimpressed.

Slade stood among the girders on the upper floor of an exposed, unfinished building- one of the few in the city left untouched. He watched the desolation stoically, dark eye staring at Raven with something that resembled reverence. A black, brooding Katana waited sheathed in the man's iron fist.

A dark shape moved in the rafters behind Slade, moving with cat-like grace as it slid down a rope it had fashioned and slowly stalked at his back.

Slade glanced casually behind him. "Enjoying the show, Robin?"

Screaming, Robin's staff snapped open and exploded in a flurry of motion.

But Slade was already gone.

Robin heard only the Katana's song as it slid from its scabbard.

His staff was in pieces, his arms and legs grazed and bloody, Robin fell to knees. Several feet behind him, Slade had his back to the Boy Wonder. The sword glinted like silver as he whirled it back into its sheath.

"God _damn_ you Slade," the boy coughed.

An invisible force seizing him, Robin was lifted into the air and floated towards Slade as if suspended on strings. With his stolen magic, Slade held Robin aloft with an open hand. He regarded the defeated Titan derisively.

"Oh come now, Robin, don't hoard all that hatred just for my sake." Robin could almost imagine the cruel grinforming underneath that mask. "Thank Raven too," he reminded the boy. "After all, this was all possible because of her.

"Sadly, it would appear our fun is finally at an end, old friend." Slade sighed. "You were a worthy adversary, for a while, at least. Goodbye, Robin."

Slade clenched his fist tightly.

Robin's body followed suit.

* * *

The blind man's perception returned to the Present. He was at the construction site, standing at the very spot where Robin was to soon die. Mister E's light blue trenchcoat swayed with the wind, his cane rooted to the dusty floor of the unfinished building.

A building that may never actually _be_ finished.

The bandages had become uncomfortable, so Mister E had decided to don his plain sunglasses instead. Not that it really mattered, technically. Blind was blind.

He had arrived earlier than he had intended, but no matter. Now he was going to see how the nightmare had started from the beginning.

"You're mine, Raven," the blind man promised to the empty air, as if the wind would carry his oath to her.

And without even a flash of theatrics, Mister E vanished.

* * *

**Well wouldn't ya know it Nyakai, you got your fifth chapter already. It's not how I originally planned Chapter 5 to be; I guess I should be calling _that_ Chapter Six now. And no, don't thank me. Thank Megadeth and Pepsi. Lots and lots of Pepsi. I realize this little doozy of a quickie will leave a lot of you in a bit of a shock. Send me questions if you like. I'll answer what I can without ruining the future plot. **

**Oh, and Mr. E is in fact a character from the D.C. universe. He's the blind man from before and I didn't even make him up. **

**Well, I'm goin' on break for a while. I'm damn tired. **

**See ya in a week or so,**

**-Cy**


	6. Cordially Invited

**I'll tell ya what: When I actually DO own the Teen Titans, I'll let you know.

* * *

**

'_Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak  
Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break.'_

**-Malcolm, William Shakespeare's Macbeth**

In the form of a giant raven of blazing black fire, Raven's soul-self soared over the great expanse of water that separated Jump City from Titan's Tower. It passed into the Tower's walls like a ghost, phasing through room after room before it flapped to a stop ina wide, empty gymnasium. Opening its great wings, the sorcerous bird deposited Raven onto the blue mats that were the gym's floor, where it then disappeared like a blown out candle.

Her head throbbing, Raven feebly fell to her knees, thankful for the soft mat below her. Hood drawn back, Raven's mauve hair was a curtain over her hanging head as she breathed heavily down to the floor. Flooded with unfamiliar panic, Raven's heart punched wildly against the solid cage of her ribs.

"_Azarath, metrion, zinthos…Azarath, metrion, zinthos…_" she whispered her mantra under her breath; seeking the calm center as she tried to banish the fear from her mind.

As disciplined as the Sorceress was, fear wasn't as accommodating an emotion.

Raven's breathing stopped as a pair heavy armored boots stepped into view. "That was rather rude, Raven." Slade admonished from above her. "Leaving that bookstore in such a mess, I thought you were a lover of literature."

Gasping, she tilted her head up to face him…only to gaze at empty air. Slade's mocking laughter seemed to echo endlessly from all directions. Fear gave way to something entirely more destructive: anger. Slade was playing with Raven; taunting her, twisting her around like a puppet on strings.

Eyes white, Raven brought herself to her feet. Her powers demanded release, anger hungering for satisfaction. It took most of the dark-girl's willpower to suppress her powers back within herself.

"What do you want from me?" she demanded the empty room.

"How well we pay attention," Slade said. Wheeling her head, Raven found him leaning casually against a wall beside her, arms crossed over his broad chest. "If you had bothered to listen, you'd know that all I want to do is talk, Raven. Of course, maybe we were too busy trying to bury me beneath half of the bookstore's stock, hm?"

He had finally shown himself. The white fire in Raven's eyes intensified. "I'm not interested having a chat with you," She spat.

Slade chuckled. "Dear child, you're assuming I've given you a choice in the matter."

"Leave me **ALONE!**" Anger overflowing, Raven sent her powers loose against Slade like releasing the leash of a feral beast. The racks of weapons resting against the gym's walls shuddered and glowed black as they lifted into the air. Motioning her hands at Slade, the wooden swords and practice staffs rocketed towards the man.

Slade didn't so much as bat an eye.

Slamming against the wall like torpedoes, the flurry of weapons shattered into splinters on impact.

But they had struck the _wall_, not Slade.

Faster than Raven could blink, the man had vanished again.

"Again, with your temper," Slade chided. Turning her head, Raven found the man had reappeared just feet from her, hands patiently clasped behind him. He had the superior air of a teacher trying to convey a simple idea to a thick-headed student. "If you keep rudely interrupting me, we're never going to get anywhere, my dear."

Snarling in frustration, Raven extended her shadow wrapped-fist. A beam of black lanced towards Slade's chest, a heavy bolt of magic that would send of him careening. But the man simply stood there as it punched against him; it had no effect at all.

He tilted his head. "Are we quite done?"

Raven stumbled back in weariness and shock. She had invested so much energy into that attack…

"You're not really here, are you?" she realized aloud.

The student finally understands, slow as she was. "In a manner of speaking, no, I'm not truly here at all. However…"

Slade's face was suddenly inches from hers in half a heartbeat. Lifting his hand, he prodded Raven's forehead with two fingers. "I am exactly where I need to be…_right here_."

Raven flinched when his cold fingers tapped her head at the last two syllables. She had felt it. Just as she finished blinking, Slade had retreated back again as quickly as he had arrived.

"You and I have much more in common than you realize, Raven."

"Our people skills?"

Ignoring Raven's sarcasm, his dark eye glared at her sternly. "We were, both of us, enslaved by Trigon. You imprisoned by Destiny as his daughter, myself forced into his service."

"Like I could help who my father was," Raven replied crossly. "I was _born _with Trigon, you _chose _to join him."

"And what other alternative did I have!" Slade snapped, usual veneer of control wavering under his temper. "Humiliating as it was, you Titans defeated me. Worse yet, Terra's betrayal entombed me in that volcano, beneath crushing, incinerating layers of molten earth. I _died_, Raven. But in the oblivion on Death, your father came to me with a proposition: In return for my service, I would be given _life _again, granted incredible power, and best of all…an opportunity to have my vengeance against the Titans that damned me."

"Oh, how could you refuse?" she grumbled.

"One does not refuse Trigon the Terrible," Slade pointed out grimly. "I swallowed my pride for the lesser of two evils." He held out his arms with the triumph of a man who has escaped from the very jaws of Death itself. "And now, Raven, Trigon is no more. I am free of his servitude- resurrected- with a new lease on life, so to speak."

"Congratulations, you've cheated death," Raven commended wryly. "What are you going to do next? Reform? Give back to society? Disneyland?"

Ever patient, Slade regarded Raven with slight bemusement. "My plans are something far grander than that. I'm arranging a celebration of sorts forthe Titans, call it my Homecoming. And _you_, dear Raven, are my Guest of Honor."

"I'm not a 'party' kind of girl."

"Oh, but all your friends will be most certainly be coming," Slade said with mock-regret. "Rest assured, it'll be quite the bash."

Like a passing breath of wind, Slade disappeared yet again. His chilling laughter echoed behind like a haunting ghost.

"Why me?" Raven asked the empty room. "You said it yourself: Trigon is dead. There's no reason for you to be after me now!"

His bodiless voice chuckled darkly. He sounded so close, it was as if he were speaking into her ear.

"_I have reasons of my own, dear child. I found out so many interesting things about you, you've just gone and sparked my curiosity."_

The dark-girl's senses weakly buzzed through the pain of her migraine. Raven froze where she stood.

I wasn't just _as if _Slade were talking into her ear...

Paralyzed, she couldn't even cringe as his iron hand clasped onto her caped shoulder. She felt his hot breath vent from his mask onto her shivering neck. Raven centered herself, standing in eye of a storm of emotions.

_Fear_

_Panic_

_Anger_

_Despair_

_**Defiance**_

Slipping from Slade's grip, she turned to face him. Floating inches above the floor, her eyes blazed ivory.

"_Azarath, Metrion, Zin-_"

Slade cut her chant short, steel-gloved hand smothering her face as his grip tightened.. Raven's control faltering, the controlled tempest that was her powers dissipated violently. It burst out like an explosion in the gymnasium, booming like thunder as the force tore the mats off the floor.

The entire room broken and cracked around him, Slade stood undisturbed in a small crater as his fingers tightly squeezed the dark girl's head. Steam hissed from the brow beneath Slade's hand, Raven screamed to a familiar agony.

"We will see each other again in three days," Slade told her. "When the time comes, you will betray your friends, and you will be helpless to stop it."

Slade released her.

Breaths rasping, Raven fell painfully to the floor. The Mark of Scath burned on her forehead like a bloody brand. Groaning in pain, the girl curled on the floor and fell into unconsciousness.

Holding out his hand, Slade conjured a computer disk with a flicker of black flame. It was emblazoned with the sharp 'S' that was his ensign; there would be no mistakes who sent this.

Tossing it lightly on Raven's sleeping form, he looked down at her. "I have great things in store for us both, my dear."

Darkness spreading over him, Slade's body dispersed like wafting smoke until there wasn't a single trace of him left…

Besides the innocuous disk resting on Raven's lap.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter took longer than I expected. I had been working on it for a few days, but I just couldn't seem to get a proper flow. Frankly, I'm just glad I wrote it decently enough. **

**As usual, any reviews, constructive criticism, or general comments are always appreciated. With luck, I'll have another chapter done within the next few days. We'll just hafta see. **

**Until next update,**

**-Cy**


	7. The Monks of Azarath

**Let me guess, you're probably expecting another witty comment about how I don't own the Teen Titans. Yeah, well…I'm out of them. So just enjoy the story:

* * *

**

'_Have you ever felt... _

_The future is the past, _

_But you don't know how?'_

**-Dream of Mirrors, Iron Maiden**

Titan's Tower was an abandoned ruin. Its once gleaming walls of crystal glass had long since been shattered, the beams that were its skeleton exposed and rusted like the rotted wounds of a corpse. The thrashing wind playing with her cloak, Raven stood in what had once been the Titan's living room.

Toes gracing the edge of the absent window, she stared vacantly at the lashing black waters of the bay. It was not the fiery hell her father had created when he had arrived.

In her opinion, this was far worse.

A thick blanket of clouds eternally hung over Jump City, shutting out the sun and damning the city in an everlasting night. The once grand skyscrapers were nothing more tombstones now for a dead, silent city. Lightning blacker than midnight- obviously the work of sorcery- sporadically burst from the sky to the horizon; the clouds grumbled their thunder.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" a familiar voice asked.

Arrayed in elegant armor of ebony, Malchior approached Raven from the deeper ruins of the tower. A grin creased the black veil of cloth that masked his lower face; slanted eyes of emerald jade were bright with wicked delight as his long silver hair writhed as a thing alive in the wind.

Horrorstruck, Raven glanced to the remnants of the city back to the treacherous dragon that had broken her heart. "Malchior…you did all of _this_?"

"You flatter me," he laughed. "But it is not I who is responsible. All you see before you, Sweet Raven, is _your _doing."

"_What?_"

Standing beside her, the dragon swept out a pale hand, indicating everything that could be seen to the horizon. "This is your world. This is your kingdom of corruption and darkness."

Raven shook her head; tears of dismay blurred her violet eyes. "No…no…no! This can't be happening! This can't be real!"

"**What's done cannot be undone," **the darkness stirred behind her.

The speaker was a lithe thing cloaked and hooded in black. It leaned back comfortably, imperiously seated in a regal throne of carved wood. Raven beaks and raven faces grinned from the throne's armrests.

"Who are you?" Raven asked it.

Its face may had been hidden beneath the shadow of its cowl, but Raven could tell it was smiling knowingly. **"I am insidious, impartial, deep inside your chromosomes. I am the cancer in your bones…"**

Raven's eye widened when it raised its head. Four thin, crimson eyes flashed underneath its hood. **"The Titans are slain by my hands; more men have died to me than all the nation's wars! This world is mine!"**

Raven stumbled back from the thing, feet dangerously close to the edge.

Like looking through a twisted looking glass, Raven recognized herself seated on the raven-throne.

"**I am the prison for your soul."**

Losing her footing, Raven tumbled over the edge. Titan's Tower seemed to grow taller as she fell, the unseen ground racing closer to her back.

And then the world shattered.

She stood in a clearing of white marble, the crumbled remains of Azarath slept around her. The Great Elder Priests of Azarath perched themselves in a semicircle before her in the form of aged white birds.

_You have returned, _a large owl said.

_Welcome back, _said an eagle.

_Why are you here? _Growled the hawk with an annoyed puff of his feathers.

"I don't know," Raven admitted.

_Trigon the Terrible is no more, _the eagle said. _Be glad, little raven, for you are at last truly free._

_Indeed, _a falcon agreed.

_You called upon the name of the Monks of Azarath in your battle with your Father, _the eagle said proudly. _You may have been odd and different amongst us, but we still raised as one of us. _

The hawk craned his head irritably. _Trigon is not the True danger here! Even without her father, this girl remains a danger to us all!_

_Trigon not the True danger?_ A sparrow gasped.

_Trigon decimated millions of worlds in his realm! _The owl dissented. _She saved the Sphere of mortals from the same fate! _

_Exactly! _Replied the hawk. _Raven banished Trigon herself! If her power is great enough to defeat him, what else can she be capable of? _

_True, _the falcon concurred.

Even when they were dead, the Elders were _still _annoying. "You know," Raven put in monotonously. "They have this strange custom on Earth where it's _rude _to talk about someone like she's not even there."

_Impudent as always, _the hawk grumbled.

Raven narrowed her eyes. "I am not my father," she insisted.

_We have reason to believe otherwise. _

_The branches of your destiny are thin and perilous, _said the owl grimly. _Too easily can your thread spin into sorrow and death. _

" '_And oftentimes to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths. Win us with honest trifles, to betray's in deepest consequence.' _" Raven quoted.

The owl tilted his head in puzzlement. _Earth literature?_

"Macbeth," Raven explained. "It warns against trusting too much to prophesy. The prediction I would be Trigon's doorway may had come true, but in the end, my friends and I still defeated him."

_You have grown wiser, _the sparrow observed.

"_Oh, but come now, Raven. Do you really think you'll slip past your destiny so easily?" _

Raven spotted another bird above her. A vulture dug his talons into the broken peak of a dilapidated tower. Above Raven and the elders, it stared down at her, its right eye gray and blinded by a long, jagged scar that ran down it. Raven's gaze met the vulture's working eye; a wide, dark pupil that gleamed shrewdly.

"_When the time comes, you **will** betray your friends," _Slade hissed._ "And you will be helpless to stop it."_

"NO!"

Raven shot awake, sweating and panting heavily. The birthmark from the Order of Scath still burned on her forehead, the blazing pain already spreading into a massive headache. It was then Raven realized she was sitting in an unfamiliar bed, the nauseating smell of antiseptic chemicals immediately pointed to the infirmary. There was no sign of her friends in the dark room, most likely they had left her alone to recover. Shoulders feeling uncomfortably bare, Raven spied her cloak draped over a chair near her bed.

Swinging her feet off the bed, Raven teetered as stood up. The Mark seemed to be slowly smoldering itself out, but her head still throbbed.

With a light flourish, she swung the cape on her shoulders and fastened it. Pulling the hood up, Raven considered it an improvement, at least. She had always considered the cloak a kind of barrier, something that separated the world from her; it helped the sorceress kept a proper grip on her emotions.

Resolving to bear through her headache, Raven left the infirmary in search of her friends.

* * *

The door silently slid itself open as Cyborg stepped into the Titan's living room. Starfire and Beast Boy sat tensely on the couch as Robin paced the room with his hands behind his back.

"I checked up on Raven a little while ago," Cyborg announced, the Titans glancing up as he spoke. "She's still sleeping."

"What about the disk?" Robin demanded.

"Did a thorough diagnostic, no signs of a computer virus or any suspicious files. It's just a pre-recorded message." Tossing the small disk to Robin, he snatched it out of the air without looking. The Boy Wonder's eyed narrowed at the disk's 'S' insignia.

"Three guesses who sent it."

"Slade…" Robin growled.

"Well come on, dude!" Beast Boy urged. "Play it!"

Feeding the CD into a slot on their TV, Robin crossed his arms as the rest of the Titans gathered around the screen.

The static snow flickered away, Slade's enlarged face glared down at them. "Hello Titans," he greeted evenly. "It's simply been too long."

"What did you do to Raven, Slade?" Robin shouted at the screen.

"Chill out Robin," Cyborg said. "It's a _recording_, he can't hear-"

"Don't worry, Robin," Slade assured him coolly. "I wouldn't go so far as to permanently damage such a promising girl. Raven will be perfectly fine, soon enough."

The boy's eyes narrowed behind his mask's lenses. "What are you planning to do to her, you maniac!"

Slade chuckled. "And ruin the suspense? Not likely."

Cyborg gawked. Slade was having a conversation with Robin through a _video recording_. "Oh this guy is good…"

"Enough formalities," Slade said. "This is an invitation to a party I'm hosting, celebrating my _Grande Retour_. I'd like to let the Titans know you're all invited."

"I've got a feeling Slade's idea of a party doesn't involve tofu-cake," Beast Boy remarked.

"We're not playing your games, Slade," Robin said defiantly. "No thanks."

The video-Slade shrugged. "The choice is yours, Titans. I so do hope you attend; if not for me, than for Raven's sake."

The Titans stiffened at the veiled threat to their friend.

"You have three days," Slade informed them.

The screen went dark. Message delivered.

Unnoticed by her teammates, Raven stood in doorway, eyes apprehensive.

"_We will see each other again in three days," _Slade had told her._ "When the time comes, you will betray your friends, and you will be helpless to stop it." _

Wearing her expressionless mask, Raven's cloak rustled as she sharply turned and stalked to her room.

* * *

**Meh. Admitingly not my best writing, but this chapter was a tad more difficult to write than usual. Ironically, that thing with the birds was actually from a dream I had, even the whole one-eyed bird thing. Except a few of the birds wanted to eat me, I flew in clouds high above the mountains….then I shot all the geese I could with a rifle, 'cause the other birds don't like geese. **

**Yeah……there's a reason I'm in therapy. **

**heh. **

**Alright then, I'll see you guys next update. Feel free to include any questions or comments in your reviews if you wish, I'll be sure to answer best I can. **

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Cy**


	8. Three Days

**Yeah...I like, _totally _own Teen Titans. And I beat Cyborg in an arm-wrestling contest too, since we're on the subject of 'impossible crap'.

* * *

**

Slade's dark eye opened to the room's shifting darkness. Shadows and light danced around each other as small candles burned weakly around him. He was kneeling within circle of carefully scripted runes, a maze of interconnecting sigils and other such magical nonsense. Piles of notes were chaotically scattered about; translations, corrections, and annotations scrawled endless across the pages.

_Vericks Wyrum _sat nearby, a small, humble manuscript bound in durable black leather, the case Red-X had delivered it in laid empty and discarded.

The candles' tails of flame quivered to something unseen.

A visitor.

Standing in full armor inside the circle, Slade peeked over his shoulder. "It is done. Everything is proceeding exactly as I planned."

It could barely be discerned from the shadows of the room; a thing hooded and caped in deep night.

"**_Uer…." _**It hissed. Its tongue was harsh and alien, but the thing's chilling voice slithered into his head, whispering into his mind. _When?_

"The translations are going well; all that remains is to compile it all into a workable spell. Everything will be in readiness within three days."

"_**Dha……Uz fir abh kuerr MUDRIO!" **No...it must be done NOW!_

The room's darkness seemed to come alive, the very walls quaking at the thing's irritated impatience. Their flames still burning strong, the candles dimmed as the shadows spread and thickened, as if the very light was being smothered out. Safe within his Circle of Protection, Slade clasped his hands behind his back without a hint of unease.

"Come now," Slade reassured it calmly. "You've waited this long, surely three more days is reasonable enough?"

It relented, the room slowly stilled. But Slade could sense its restless hunger.

It was appeased, for now.

A light knock rapped at the chamber door. The thing's shape dispersed like black smoke, vanishing like a wraith.

"Enter," Slade allowed.

The heavy door creaked on its hinges as an elderly man in a black servants' tailcoat bowed respectfully. "Forgive my intrusion sir; you summoned me?"

"Yes, Wintergreen. We shall soon be hosting a guest here, a young lady, as it were. See to it an appropriate room is arranged for her stay."

Slightly puzzled by his master's instructions, Wintergreen nevertheless bowed. "Very good, sir. If do I may ask, when are we to be expecting the young Miss to arrive?"

Turning an amused eye to his longtime comrade, Slade smirked underneath the vents of his mask. "Don't worry, Wintergreen. Three days is more than enough time to prepare."

* * *

**Yes, I realize this shouldn't even be considered a chapter. I'm busy getting things ready for the Slade's Homecomming. It's gonna be one hell of a party. This is just something to tide you over. **

**Expect an update very soon,**

**-Cy**

**(On another note, my Best Friend GuardianSaiyoko has gotten into the Titans fandom. Her story, 'One Which Makes The Heart Run Over', is simply excellent. And yes, it has Raven.)**


	9. The First Day

**If I owned Teen Titans, I would like, _totally _rub it in GuardianSaiyoko's face. Yeah…and then I would suddenly find myself with a cut throat and a doctored Will.

* * *

**

**3 DAYS: **

_The First Day_

"_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"_

Raven meditated in the comfortable, familiar gloom of her bedroom; her cape hung inches above the floor as she levitated, legs folded.

"_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"_

She was in the calm center within, the fear, anxiety, anger, panic, guilt…Raven was within the eye of her storming emotions. They would not command her, she wielded _them_.

"_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"_

Her control tightened, mental barriers and safeguards fastening her powers where they belonged; a beast in a cage, a dammed flood. Raven's mind drifted as her lips mechanically muttered her mantra endlessly.

"_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"_

Raven's unexpected encounter with Slade had shaken the dark girl more than she cared to admit. Besides her father, Slade was one of the few things-or people- that inspired fear into her. The hold over her powers had been deeply splintered.

This mediation was needed and long overdue.

"_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"_

Mind clear, muscles relaxed, Raven's breaths were calm and level. No thoughts of Slade or worries for her friends, just herself and the tranquility of her room…

A heavy knock boomed against her door, breaking her concentration and sending her painfully onto her backside. Gritting her teeth with frustration, Raven smoothed out her cloak as she approached the door; the knocks were aggravatingly insistent.

Sliding the door open a crack, Raven's irritated eye peered out. "What?"

Cyborg stood awkwardly in the hallway, nervously scratching the back of his head. The fleshy part, that is. "Hey, Rae. Good to see ya up. You doin' alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure? I mean, you just left the infirmary without even talkin' to us. We're just a little worried about ya, Rae…"

"_I'm fine," _she growled.

Cyborg held up his metal hands, "Okay, okay, I believe ya. But…I still think we should talk. Is it alright if I come in?"

"No."

She closed the door before he could even object.

Raven bit back the tinge of regret that tugged her heart's cords. Of all the Titans, Cyborg respected both her privacy and her reclusive habits the most. He was like a big brother, really. Sure, they didn't talk that much, but there was an unspoken understanding between them; ever since she and Cyborg rebuilt the T-Car together.

That happy memory made Raven feel all the more guilty.

_You _need_ this meditation,_ she reminded herself. _He'll get over it._

Sitting onto her soft bed, Raven crossed her legs and shut her eyes as she resought to balance herself. She quickly lost herself in her meditation again, body hovering above the bed.

"_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

* * *

_

For the leader of the Teen Titans, it seemed an old nightmare had crawled from the deepestcorners of his mind back into the real world.

Slade.

It had been long, arduous thing for Robin; letting go after Slade had seemingly perished in that volcano with Terra. When Beast Boy and the rest of the Titans mourned for Terra, Robin instead found himself unsettled by Slade's demise. He was almost…fearful to accept it: to accept that his arch-nemesis- the source of his greatest torment- was finally gone.

It was too good to be true.

Robin _couldn't _let his guard down, not for an instant.

And in the end, a booby trap Slade had left behind for his favorite 'apprentice' conjured delusions in Robin's mind. He hallucinated Slade had indeed survived, logic failed to acknowledge the others couldn't see him, that they couldn't find the explosives Slade claimed to have planted.

So brutal were the hallucinations, Robin would have most likely torn himself to pieces had it not been for Raven.

_Raven_

Clenching his teeth, Robin's fist dented his workbench. Slade had returned- wielding impossible powers and marked with the symbol of Scath- resurrected by Raven's own demonic father to torment her. So worried for Raven's welfare, Robin couldn't care less about Slade at that time. Trigon was the real enemy.

But Trigon was vanquished, Slade freed from his servitude.

And yet…he was _still_ after Raven.

"Why?" Robin asked himself. "Why is Raven so fascinating to him?"

True to his habits, The Boy Wonder dug up all his Slade-related materials from storage and dusted them off. The workshop where he repaired and maintained his crime-fighting equipment once again became a window to the boy's furious obsession. Newspaper clipouts, official police reports, and blurry photographs occupied every square inch of the dark room's walls. An unfinished bird-a-rang laid lonesome on the workbench as hundreds of pages of research piled around it.

Slade's cracked mask stared tauntingly at Robin through an empty eye hole, propped up against a small tower of computer disks detailing every battle the Titans ever fought against him. Components from a wrecked Sladebot overflowed out of a cardboard box left to collect dust in a corner. Even the black uniform Robin was forced to wear as Slade's apprentice was being worn by a quiet, blank faced dummy.

Aching hand no-doubt bruised now, Robin resumed his pacing around his cramped workshop, the new computer disk Slade had delivered atop Raven's unconscious body danced between his restless fingers.

A suspicion gnawed at the back of his head. Something about all this seemed…_off, _somehow…

Recalling the gymnasium's utter ruin, Robin wondered how Slade could've walked away from it so easily…he wasn't immune to Raven's powers…not even _Trigon _was immune to the dark gifts he bestowed to his own daughter.

_Could it be…?_

Excavating his computer from the clutter of papers, Robin pulled up Titans' Tower's security records. Aside from their bedrooms and lavatories (obviously), all of the Tower was wired and constantly monitored by cameras from the fully automated security systems Cyborg had installed. While the camera in the gym had been destroyed (along with most of the gym as well), its record _hadn't. _The entirety of Raven's clash with Slade was fully intact in the computer archives.

Not feeling like sifting through endless hours of useless footage, Robin ran a search query around the timeframe of this afternoon for the gym. Fast forwarding a bit, he clicked to mouse for normal speed as the blazing black bird that was Raven's soul-self first phased into the room.

The following minutes left Robin's eyes widening.

"What the hell?"

* * *

**(You picked up the G-52 assault-rifle)**

**(You picked up 563 rounds for the G-52 assault-rifle)**

**(You picked up a med-kit)**

Beast Boy sat blankly in the pig-sty that was his room. Eyes glazed and unfocused, his fingers numbly operated the controller for his video game. Heavy gunfire and alien screams of agony squawked from the T.V. speakers. The green gamer took no notice as a heavy form sat itself down heftily beside him.

**(Player Two has entered the game)**

**(Player Two has picked up the RFH-Cannon)**

**(Player Two picked up energy cells for the RFH-Cannon)**

"Dude," Cyborg gasped next to him. "Is this the new _Earth Invaders:_ _Doomsday Edition_?"

The Changeling nodded, dulled eyes never leaving the screen. "Yeah. Bought it today at the mall."

"Sweet."

Neither of them spoke as they thumbed away at their videogame. Explosions, gunfire, alien howls, and the unmistakable hum of Cy's RFH-Cannon blowing an alien juggernaut it half filled the silence between the two like a strange, foreign language.

**(Player One picked up the Chainsaw)**

Cyborg's human eye gave Beast Boy a worried glance. BB was being distant, and _quiet. _Even a complete stranger who knew the green prankster for five minutes on a normal day could tell something to bothering the kid. He wasn't even trash-talkin'!

Determined to help his best bud, Cyborg spoke up compassionately.

"Somethin' bothering ya, man? You're gamin' skillz are crappin' out even worse than usual."

Turning his head slowly, Beast Boy's eyes narrowed.

**(Player One eviscerated Player Two with the Chainsaw)**

**(Player One picked up the RFH-Cannon)**

**(Player Two respawns in five seconds)**

"That was _cold_, BB. Real cold."

**(Player Two has rejoined the game)**

**(Player One disintegrated Player Two)

* * *

**

Raven cracked her eyes open when her communicator rang at her hip. Her meditation may have been interrupted _again, _but at least she hadn't fallen on her ass.

Yanking the persistently chiming thing from her belt, Raven flipped it open to Robin's face. "What?"

"We need to talk, Raven." Robin said brusquely.

"I'm meditating here."

"Report to my workshop _now_. That's an order." His tone allowed no argument.

"Fine," she grumbled. "I'm on my way."

Robin cut the comm.-line before she could. Pulling up her hood, Raven returned her communicator to her side before exiting her room and turning down the hallway to Robin's workshop.

On her way, the dark girl realized she had never really been in Robin's little playroom before. Their fearless leader often locked himself in there whenever something frustrated him or if he was on the verge of a breakthrough. Now that Raven thought about it, even her room was visited more than Robin's workshop. Everyone kind of…kept away from it, mostly out of respect for Robin.

Fresh from her meditation, Raven easily pushed back a nagging apprehension. Robin never pulled rank, he didn't order, he _asked_.

Something had definitely gotten to him.

"_The choice is yours, Titans. I so do hope you attend; if not for me, than for Raven's sake." _

It wasn't difficult to guess what had Robin on edge.

She stopped at the end of a deserted hall, facing an unassuming, unmarked door. She rapped at it lightly.

_A raven, tapping at a chamber door. _She thought ironically. _'Nevermore'_

The door slid soundlessly open. "Come in," Robin invited from inside.

Carefully stepping inside, she took in the dim lights and the room's Slade-related theme. "Love what you've done with the place."

Taking after his mentor, Robin melted from the darkness. His dark cape draped his athletic form much like Raven's cloak. "We need to talk."

"Yeah, heard you the first time."

Masked face stern and humorless, Robin crossed his arms. "Why is Slade after you?"

"Funny, I asked him the same question."

"I know."

She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I dug up the footage between you and Slade from the security archives," he explained. Titling his head to the computer, he said. "Computer: bring up bookmark tag 543."

Raven saw herself on the screen, pulling herself from the gymnasium floor, eyes glowing an angry white. _"What do you want from me?"_ she had demanded the empty room.

The video-Raven wheeled about, following something invisible. Nothing else but her registered on the screen, yet she glared at an empty spot on the wall hatefully.

"_I'm not interested having a chat with you,"_ She spat to the blank wall.

The real Raven found herself reeling. It wasn't possible…Slade had been there…she had _seen _him.

"There's no-one else there, Raven," Robin said gently. "Even if Slade was somehow cloaked, he couldn't hide his voice from the audio-recorders. You were talking to something that wasn't _there_."

"What are you getting at, Robin?" she replied tensely.

"That time when we all watched that scary movie together…your powers created the things you feared into reality. Isn't it possible you _thought _you saw Slade? Couldn't it have been all in your head?"

"_You're not really here, are you?"_ The video went on behind Robin.

The camera recorded no answer, but the Raven on the screen reacted as if she had received one.

"How do you explain the disk then?" Raven pointed out. "You saying we _all _imagined that, huh?"

"Your powers created a cloaked monster from a scary movie that grabbed all of us, why couldn't it conjure a computer disk?"

Raven felt the control she meditated hard to regain begin to slip. Doubt flooded her, along with guilt, resentment, helplessness…and anger.

"I _felt _Slade! I felt his hand on my shoulder! I felt his breath on my neck! I felt it when her _smothered my face!_"

Her power was like an frightened animal thrashing at its leash. It needed to strike out at **_something_**… Raven's self-control teetered.

"And I felt it when Slade punched me," Robin said. "I was so sure it was real, but it was just a hallucination, Rae."

"**SHUT UP!" **Her eyes flashed red for an instant, the wild sorcery within her took a life of its own, wishing nothing more than to reach out from the recesses of its host's soul and crush the pitiful mortal mocking it.

It wanted Robin.

It wanted to _kill_ him…

_NO!_

She redirected her mental lash at something, _anything_, other than Robin.

Behind the costumed crime-fighter, the computer monitor was enveloped in black and shattered like glass. Robin jumped as it exploded.

Ashamed, Raven turned away from Robin, grateful her hood hid her. "I….I need to meditate."

Wrapping her cloak protectively around herself, Raven's form glowed black as she sank into the floor and phased out of the room.

'_The raven himself is hoarse  
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan  
Under my battlements.'_

**-Lady Macbeth, William Shakespeare's Macbeth

* * *

**

**Things are picking up well, I'd say, so expect an update to come soon. As always, reviews are appreciated and constructive criticism is ever welcome. **

**The first day is over, and just two more**

**Before the fearsome Slade's _Grand Retour._**

**Peace out, War in,**

**-Cy**


	10. The Second Day

**Frankly, I'd absolutely _love_ to tell you I own Teen Titans. But if I did, that would be lying, and liars go to hell. At least, that what my big sister says- and she'd know, she's throwing a huge party when she gets there. **

_"I thought you'd make a good yo-yo."_

**-Red X **

The great summer heat wave that had broiled Jump City for a long, agonizing week finally subsided as a front of gloomy gray stormclouds smothered out the oppressive sun. While the dry heat of the sunlight was banished by overcast, the muggy humidity stubbornly remained. The cold breath of clouds and the thick sweat of hot air reacted less-than-civilly towards each other. The afternoon dim with a premature night, rain fell on Jump; announced by brilliant flashes and the drumbeats of thunder.

Joey (often referred as his charming nickname, "Weasel") Williams shrugged his battered duster over his head to ward off the rain's insistent patter. Old Town was already wet with a sheen of shattered raindrops, the decrepit refuse and filth of Jump's South Side turning to muddy grime. Weasel was a long standing resident of Old Town; at first glance just another crook scrounging along in the filthy arteries of Jump City's criminal heart. While considered above pervs and purse-snatchers, Weasel was still a second hand criminal. To just be a dime-a-dozen middleman was Joey's old, dusty ambition.

But he survived, which is more than the fading chalk outlines on the sidewalk could say. The long arm of the Law aimed higher than dirt like him- no one really bothers with the rat in the mud. A heavy drawback of living in the mud, however, was that sometimes you got stepped on.

Crossing the fringes of unfriendly gang territory, Weasel took a detour through a narrow alleyway. Eager to be back in the leaking trash-heap he called home, Joey realized too late when he felt a tug at his ankle. He paused and stared dumbly down at the thin wire he had tripped over. "What the-?"

The world spun clockwise as something yanked at his foot, flipping him upside down like a hare caught in a trap. Weasel screams were outclassed by the thunder as he was pulled up by his leg, brick wall blurring past. Floors piled high beneath him, Weasel came to a jerking halt a full five stories above the ground. Displaced blood clogged his head with a migraine, struggling to make sense of the flipped image his eyes sent him. A shape cut from shadow's cloth perched itself easily on the slick railing of a fire escape, staring at him with black, hollow eyes. Its face was a dead-white skull, a Halloween Nightmare with an angry, criss-crossing crimson scar.

"Hey Weaz. How's it hangin'?" it chortled with an icy, electronically filtered voice.

Weasel recognized his captor instantly. "You!"

The skull tilted its head quizzically. "U? That's my mother's maiden name. It's 'X', remember?"

The crook waved his hands frantically. "What the hell is _this?_"

"I thought you'd make a good yo-yo."

The lifeline's tension loosening, Weasel screamed his throat hoarse as he plummeted five stories to the solid pavement below. His head a breath from meeting the ground, the line suddenly tautened, bobbing Weasel at the end of the rope before being speedily carried back up.

Weasel's gasped with empty lungs as X chuckled with twisted humor. "Now _that _looked fun! Wanna try 'Walk the Dog' next?"

"No!" the crook managed to croak desperately. "Please no!"

"Sure," X replied with an untailored shrug. "It's been a while since we've hung out, Weaz. How about we do some catching up?"

"I don't got shit to say to you!" he spat with little forethought.

"'Walk the dog' it is, then."

Weasel's lifeline giving way once again, the pounding thunder drowned out his terrified cries as he bobbled precariously at the end of his line. He was close to the ground this time, his hair dipped into the grimly puddles on the broken alleyway pavement. The torment seemed an eternity for the two-timing felon; life hanging at the edge of a rope, rising and falling over and over like he was on a broken elevator. Nearly at tears, Williams was finally carried all the way up back to his captor- properly humbled this time.

"Talking's cool!" Weasel squeaked quickly. "I've got no problem talkin', no, no, no! No problem at all!"

"Good boy," the thief said. X slid easily into a casual air; just another friendly, cheery chat with an old pal at the local coffee shop. "Is it just me," X wondered aloud, "or did I miss some kinda memo, Weaz?"

"Wa-what'chya mean by that?"

Seizing him roughly by the collar, Red-X pulled Weasel closer. "Don't even try your dumb-ass act with me Joey. You're not _nearly _as stupid as you look. Every damn crook in this city- banker robbers and pickpockets alike- all seemed to have gone on a little vacation."

"You…uh….didn't get the Union newsletter?" Weasel tried weakly.

"_No_," X hissed. "Why don't ya catch me up?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rainstorm finally relented by the time the authorities arrived at the docks. Called in by scattered reports of heavy gunfire, Jump's finest responded with seasoned haste.

Only to arrive too late.

Being well past midnight, there was hardly a crowd of gawking civilians and milling news cameras; even so, the Police wasted no time cordoning off the crime scene with a perimeter of flimsy yellow tape and a vanguard of uniformed cops.

Fatigued and frustrated as hell, Detective Neils snorted with disgust and discarded the plastic mug of so-called coffee down the storm drain. Fumbling in the pockets of his raincoat for his pack of cigarettes, Neils leaned against his car and thumbed open his lighter as he glanced through the scene.

The harsh blue and reds of police lights spun cheerless atop the slumbering hulks of clustered police cars as the Crime Scene Unit carried on their grisly work. Powerful cameras flashed like mute lightning, small numbered signs bookmarking the thick carpet of spent shell casings littering the dockyard. Coroners knelt silently beside draped over sprawled human shapes, empty chalklines hinted a terrible story with its vacancy.

"You called me, Detective?"

Startled, Neils nearly choked on his cigarette. After a long series of wild coughs, he managed to hack it onto the ground instead of down his throat. "Do you have to sneak up on me _every time_?"

A thin boy crouched like a bird of prey on the roof of the Detective's car, a cape hanging off his shoulders like wings. Chuckling apologetically, Robin ran his fingers through the mess of black hair tangling his head. "Sorry. Bit of a habit." Detective Neils grunted bitterly at that as he dug through his pockets for another cigarette. "You shouldn't smoke those things anyway," the Titan pointed out. "They'll kill you."

"Only if I'm lucky," grumbled Neil.

"What's the situation here?"

"JCPD received multiple reports of heavy gunfire on the docks here about half-an hour ago. By the time the first officer's arrived on scene, the fighting was already over. Three dozen victims, most dead but others critically wounded."

"Smugglers?" Robin guessed.

"Oh yeah," Neils confirmed. "From the looks of it, we've stumbled on a massive smuggling ring running illegal weapons through Jump's Port Authority. All of it arranged by none other than Markus Czekarra."

Robin's eyebrow rose a pitch. "_The _Markus Czekarra? As in, the Russian ex-Spetsnaz running the international crime syndicate? _That _Markus Czekarra?"

"Do you know any others?"

"Uh…good point."

Heaving a sigh with the weight of long years, Neils took a long breath from his cigarette. "Czekarra's under a federal investigation right now. With his men caught right on the scene with smuggled contraband, it'll only be a matter of time until the FBI swoop in and seize the entire case out from under us."

The boy wonder shrugged. "Czekarra's an international criminal. What does it matter if the FBI is putting together a solid case? It's entirely within their jurisdiction."

"It's not that Russian merchant I'm worried about," the Detective said balefully. "It's the guy that eighty-sixed his boys."

Eyes behind his lenses narrowing, Robin swept his gaze studiously across the crime scene. Mentored since a boy to study the minutest details around him; small, telltale clues pieced themselves together in his mind. Blood splatter: sweeping up like a comma, the final resting places of the bodies: they grouped themselves together, trying to reassure the security in their numbers. The littered shellcasings spoke volumes about their firing position- ammo fired wildly in a panic. There was no indication of an _exchange _of gunfire. All these men had been working together, fighting against the same thing.

"There was only one attacker…" Robin realized. He ignored the familiar ache of his hand as he clenched it tightly (it was still sore from denting his workbench the night before).

Neils gave Robin a short _'what the hell are you talking about' _look, then eyed the crime scene critically. "What the hell here tells you it was only one guy?"

Offered no response, Neils turned back to Robin.

Only to find that the boy had vanished without a single trace.

"Dammit. I hate it when he does that."

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"I don't know anything man, I swear!" Weasel insisted frenetically. "Why don't you shake down Keogh or Charles Z?"

"Already tried them," said X. "They won't buy hot merchandise or give me any Intel for new hits. Everyone's lips are sealed tight, so I came straight to the prettiest set of loose lips in town."

"It's a gag order man! Jump City's has to be a crime-free paradise for the next three days. Anyone caught breaking the order'll have a war on their ass!"

"What the hell kind of mob boss has the leverage to freeze every crook in Jump like that?" X asked. Something like that just didn't seem possible…

But the weasel shook his head. "Nah man, the Big Fish are on ice too. Even _they _wouldn't risk breakin' this thing."

"Do I_ look_ like a Mafioso to you?"

Joey's eyes bulged. X seriously couldn't be saying…just being connected to this maniac could be harmful to his health. "You can't be serious!"

"_Nobody _tells me when the hell I can or can't rip someone off," Red-X growled. "Who handed down the order?"

"You don't get it, man! This guy'll butcher you!"

"He can try. _Who handed down the order_?" But the little rat was too scared to answer. X would have to shift those fears somewhere more useful. The steel of X's sword sang a song of pure velvet as he slid it off his back. With a flick that outran the falling rain, X cut Williams' rope and caught the short end in his glove. "You're awful heavy, Weaz. Better talk fast before I loose my grip…"

His third time dangerously dangling five stories above the ground, you'd think the fella'd be used to it by now. "Oh PLEASE! Please don't let me fall!"

"_Who!_" X demanded.

Red-X prided himself with his skills as a thief. He had built a flawless reputation that was already the stuff of legend among circles of thieves and burglars. It was a profession that demanded artful skill, unbridled patience, meticulous planning, and- above all- the flexibility to roll and react to any unexpected snags that were known to happen in a job. X, however, was completely floored by the name screaming bloody murder out of Joey Williams' throat.

"_Slade! It was Slade!"_

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**Considering it's been over a month since I last updated, I offer my biggest apologies to you guys. Things have been unbelievably frantic now that I've moved to college, not to mention the terrible bout of writer's block and insomnia. But don't worry All, I'm pretty much back to my old, psychotic self, so updates should be coming back at reasonable intervals again. Again, I can't say enough how sorry I am for taking this long. I hope this chapter makes up for it. **

**Any review, praise or flame, is always appreciated. Oh, and if you hadn't read any of the great Titan stories written by Guardiansaiyoko...what the hell're you waiting for? It's excellent stuff.**

**Begging for forgiveness,**

**-Cy**


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